Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The appointment from Emperor Xia quickly whipped up a storm.
While it had seemed to be an appointment that was of little importance in first glance. But becoming the princess’ valet meant that he was able to get near Princess Xia Qingyuan, serving by her side and protecting her from danger.
Everyone in Emperor Xia’s Realm knew that Emperor Xia doted on Xia Qingyuan the most. The person that was to became her valet would have been of significant importance.
It meant that Emperor Xia had absolute trust in him, be it in terms of birth, talents, or powers.
It was worth noting that some geniuses at the very pinnacle had thoughts about the princess. While they did not dare to show such thoughts in public, but that most beloved daughter of Emperor Xia was lauded to be the most talented in Emperor Xia’s Realm. While she had often appeared in men’s clothing, yet it did not change the fact that she looked incredibly stunning. She was the princess born between Emperor Xia and the number one beauty in Emperor Xia’s Realm after that. There was no need to doubt about her appearance.
No other young women in Emperor Xia’s Realm were deemed being worthy of being compared to Xia Qingyuan.
No one would have batted an eye if Emperor Xia had appointed a saint from the previous generation to protect the princess, but the one appointed was none other than Ye Futian, who was said to be the most talented in the Nine States of the Lower Worlds. He served directly under Emperor Xia and it was that he was very young and extremely handsome. Such unparalleled specimen of a human being getting appointed as the princess’ valet would have surely became the talk of the place.
Furthermore, the timing of the appointment was very coincidental, as it happened when Lihen Heaven had just clashed with the ones from the Holy Zhi Palace who ventured to the Upper Worlds for training. From that standpoint, it was entirely within reason to see that to be some kind of warning to some forces at the Upper Worlds.
As such, regardless of how powerful such forces would have been in the Upper Worlds, they would have had to consider carefully if they wanted to move against Ye Futian.
That appointment had far greater influence that when Ye Futian and the other two had beaten the Jiutian Temple back then. Many top notch sages and saints would not have paid any attention to what happened in the Jiutian Temple, thus many more came to hear of Ye Futian’s name at present.
Furthermore, many would have known that he hailed from the Holy Zhi Palace of the Barren State of the Nine States at the Lower Worlds. He was a palace lord of a holy land at the Lower Worlds, one who served directly under Emperor Xia.
While the Upper Worlds were also under Emperor Xia’s rule, but forces like Lihen Heaven did not serve directly under the emperor. That point resembled the like of the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty of the Nine States, which had a standing army and forces within the sacred dynasty’s territory serving it.
At that moment, clouds circled around a mountain. There were some buildings built in a scattered manner on the mountain. Spiritual qi around there was incredibly thick and the scenery was very beautiful, with flowing rivers and waterfalls, as well as towers and pavilions found all about the place, making the mountain incredibly elegant.
Many went out for activities as soon as they had gotten to the Upper Worlds. Gu Dongliu and Zhuge Mingyue went to find accommodations, as it was impossible for them to stay in inns where people were many and gossip flying about for prolonged periods. They found the villa as a result.
There was a new plaque right outside the villa with two simple words on it: The Cottage.
Those two words were written personally by Ye Futian himself and he was the one who named the villa. There was little need to explain why he had done so.
The Sword Saint, Gu Dongliu and the others recalled a lot of memories as they saw Ye Futian writing the words down.
With the exception of their teacher and Xue Ye, his Fourth Brother, being absent, all of the other students of the Cottage were there in the villa.
Ye Futian stood quietly in the mountain at the moment, gazing at the scenery beneath.
He had naturally received Emperor Xia’s appointment and he knew what the emperor meant with such a decree—the emperor was protecting him.
Wuchen had been surrounded and beaten by mighty ones from Lihen Heaven and Yu Sheng was injured by the Sword Saint of Liyang. While Ye Futian was indeed angry, he did not let anger get to his head and headed to Lihen Heaven right away, seeking revenge.
He knew well how powerful Lihen Heaven was and how powerful they were in comparison. His mind was clear enough to tell that even with Yaya present, if they were to clash with the number one holy land of swordsmanship without thought and armed with only that bit of power, they might have as well been walking to their graves.
They were not at the Nine States and he would not have been naive enough to think that Lihen Heaven would have talked rules and honor with him, if he were to go to Lihen Heaven seeking revenge. The Sword Saint of Liyang had made a move against Yu Sheng after all.
If he were to provoke Lihen Heaven, he would not have known how he had even ended up dead, when the saint of the other party simply went out and cut him down.
While Emperor Xia ruled over both the Upper and Lower Worlds, yet most saints in the Nine States became saints by using sainthood resources of Emperor Xia. The holy lands of the Nine States were under Emperor Xia’s debt, making them the direct orthodoxy of Emperor Xia. As such, the emperor had absolute control of them. His orders were absolute and nobody dared to disobey them. Anyone who dared wage a sacred war would have needed to play by the rules.
However, things were different in the Upper Worlds. Forces like Lihen Heaven trained entirely on their own, and they were powerful enough to have not borrowed any of Emperor Xia’s powers. While they belonged to territories under Emperor Xia’s rule, they were not considered serving directly under the emperor, and the emperor would not have interfered with their affairs much. If he were to clash with Lihen Heaven and that Emperor Xia sided with him out in the open, allowing him to kill students of Lihen Heaven, no top notch forces would have continued wanting to expand and develop in Emperor Xia’s Realm then.
Said top notch figures would have left and headed towards other Renhuang’s Realms for training. If such a thing were to happen, Emperor Xia’s Realm would have fallen into decline.
As such, even Emperor Xia would have had to strike a balance, appointing him to be the princess’ valet, protecting him in a roundabout manner and preventing him from any mishaps in Emperor Xia’s Realm.
A figure appeared quietly behind Ye Futian. It was none other than Loulan Xue.
“How are things below the mountain?” Ye Futian asked.
“Many people came often and some even wanted to challenge you, but were quickly sent home after Wuchen and the others overpowered them. Fewer and fewer came to disturb us in time, but this place had gotten very famous in the Upper Worlds,” Loulan Xue said.
Ye Futian nodded. The name of the Cottage would have resounded throughout the Upper Worlds.
He believed that it had nothing to do with him being appointed as the princess’ valet, and it was the power of the Cottage itself. That was his vision for naming the villa ‘The Cottage’.
“What is the Glass Saint doing now?” Ye Futian asked.
“She had been training in silence every day since she came to the Upper Worlds, thinking of nothing else,” Loulan Xue answered.
“Right.” Ye Futian nodded and as he willed, a loud cry was heard. A dark golden condor dived from above, landing befor Ye Futian with its wings flapping about. It was none other than the Black Wind Condor.
“I’ll go to the Emperor Xia’s Palace for a bit,” Ye Futian said and stepped onto the Black Wind Condor, which took to the air immediately and they were both out of sight soon.
Having Emperor Xia’s appointment meant that he no longer needed to fear for his own safety.
Regardless of how capable Lihen Heaven was, they would not have dared to offend Emperor Xia.
After flying for several hours, Ye Futian arrived before the gates of Emperor Xia’s Palace. The guard saw him and bowed, saying solemnly, “Emperor Xia’s orders stated that Guardian Ye shall be allowed to enter and exit Emperor Xia’s Palace as he pleased. There shall be no need for report. Please.”
“Thank you.” Ye Futian nodded and brought the Black Wind Condor into the palace and headed for the princess’ residence.
He had been there before and as such, he knew his way around.
However, as soon as he entered the palace, a towering young man appeared before him. He stood there silently. The sun shone on his tanned skin and his eyes gazed faraway. However, Ye Futian nonetheless felt that the young man was waiting for him.
“Ye Futian.” The towering figure turned his eyes around and glanced at Ye Futian. He actually felt vague, yet extremely powerful pressure emanating from that young man.
The man was incredibly powerful. At the very least, he was considerably more powerful than Ji Ya of the Nine States.
Anyone who was able to show up in such a place would have been of exceptional status.
“What business do you have with me, if I may ask?” Ye Futian asked calmly.
“His majesty had appointed you personally, and I hope that you would not bring shame to such an honor.” That figure kept his eyes on Ye Futian, looking somewhat jealous. He then walked from Ye Futian’s side. Every single step he took made Ye Futian feel as if the pressure had grown stronger.
Ye Futian frowned, yet he did not end up saying anything. He continued forward without knowing who that was. He was reluctant to stir trouble within Emperor Xia’s Palace.
There were naturally people guarding the princess’ training ground. He was allowed inside after reporting, and soon, Ye Futian saw Xia Qingyuan.
Xia Qingyuan looked at him and said coldly, “It was not my idea.”
Ye Futian was dumbfounded, wearing a puzzled look.
“Are you talking about my appointment, princess?” Ye Futian asked. He had never thought about things from her perspective and he naturally knew that it was the emperor’s own idea. Xia Qingyuan seemed to have thought about it a little bit too much, thinking that he had misunderstood.
Xia Qingyuan’s eyes shone with a tinge of embarrassment after seeing that Ye Futian had never thought of the appointment that way, yet such embarrassment vanished in a flash and she returned to normal in an instant. She then looked at Ye Futian and said, “What are you doing here?”
“I’m appointed by Emperor Xia to be your valet, princess, so I saw fit to come take my orders. While I’m permitted to train outside, but if you were to have any orders for me, please do not hesitate to do so. Other than that, I’d like to ask if I’d be allowed a meeting with the emperor,” Ye Futian said. He was actually curious about what the emperor thought of him. Why did Emperor Xia covered for him, and then take care of things for me in secret?
“My father is busy with training and even I would not have disturbed him with good reasons. At ease. Since when did you learn manners, by the way?” Xia Qingyuan said. She had invited him twice to train with her and she was refused twice. She thought Ye Futian would have been against such an arrangement.
“I know right from wrong at the very least, princess.” Ye Futian looked at Xia Qingyuan and said calmly, “The last time I was here, I was frustrated that I was being barred from entry by you, princess. As such, my emotions had been all over the place, and for that, I beg your forgiveness.”
Xia Qingyuan recalled what happened that day and felt rather irked. However, since Ye Futian came today to apologize, her mood had gotten somewhat better.
“My father appointed you as my valet, yet he allowed you to train outside. It is but a post and you need not serve by my side, and there is no need for you to take orders here,” Xia Qingyuan said.
“I’m relieved to hear that from you, princess,” Ye Futian said. It would have been a torture for him if she had indeed intended for him to serve by her side.
“You…” Xia Qingyuan’s eyes grew increasingly cold, but she saw Ye Futian cupped his hands and said nonetheless, “If there’s nothing you’d need of me, princess, please allow me to take my leave.”
“If you’d fix your attitude for a bit, I might actually allow you to train within Emperor Xia’s Palace,” Xia Qingyuan smiled and said all of a sudden.
Ye Futian looked up at Xia Qingyuan and had to admit that she had an extremely pretty face with no flaws found. The only downside to her appearance would have probably been her dressed in men’s clothing.
“If you’d be dressed in women’s clothing, princess, those words may sound more enticing,” Ye Futian looked at her faint smile and said. It was the truth.
Xia Qingyuan’s smile disappeared and she was actually fuming as she said coldly, “Get lost!”
“I shall take my leave,” Ye Futian said to Xia Qingyuan with his hands cupped, before turning around and left.
Xia Qingyuan clenched her fists as she saw him leave. Slivers of coldness coursed about her. A servant girl who saw her like that nearby trembled in fear. The princess had been calm and composed usually, and she had actually been angered by that fellow.
However, even that servant girl felt like beating the sh** out of the him for uttering those words.
He had actually resented having to serve the princess?
But then again, the princess somehow seems rather off today, compared to how she usually is.
